


The Creature in the Catacombs

by SoullessSubstance



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Self-Indulgent, The Adventure Zone: Amnesty, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 00:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19240282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoullessSubstance/pseuds/SoullessSubstance
Summary: You need a vacation. So you go camping somewhere that will force you to unplug- Kepler, West Virginia.





	The Creature in the Catacombs

**Author's Note:**

> As the Resident Heathcliff Lover of a Moschicane server, I had little choice but make content for him. Hope some of you enjoy!

It is nearly 11:45 PM when you finish pitching your tent at a campsite in the Monongahela State Park campgrounds. It's been a rough few months, but a long weekend at work means you were able to get out of town for a little while, relax. Maybe do some hiking and exploring. You'd heard that there was a lodge with hot springs out back whose water was almost magically revitalizing- definitely on your to do list if you can figure out how much it'll cost and make room for it in the budget.

  
The moon is nearly full, shedding enough light even though the thick tree cover that you can see what you're doing with no need for the lantern you'd bought on the way here. It smells like it's rained recently, but you can't tell for sure. The ground feels dry, but that distinct scent of earthy wet wood that you can only find in a forest is overpoweringly strong. Good thing you’d remembered to buy some firewood on the way in. Wouldn't do much good to gather wet wood.

  
The campgrounds are weirdly empty for an early fall weekend. Most schools aren't back in session yet, and the weather forecast is beautiful- mid fifties to low sixties all week with mostly sunny skies. Minor chance of showers and scattered thunderstorms on Monday, but it's only Friday now. Maybe it'll fill up tomorrow. Maybe people just don't like to drive and get there late at night. You don't either, really, but… You were going to scream if you had to deal with your neighbors again tonight. As it is, there are no neighbors to deal with tonight. There's no one for several sites in any direction, which means you're free to light a fire if you'd like. And play some music on your speaker, too. But as a yawn bubbles up through your chest, you decide against a fire- hungry as you are. You can open up a can of Pringles in the tent, finish unpacking in the morning. Just grab your pillow and sleeping bag out of the back seat for now.

  
You fall asleep with your hand still in the Pringles canister, curled up warm and snug on the hard ground. For the first time in weeks, you sleep through the night save one brief interruption. You'd been woken once early in the morning when a truck drove by. A ranger who was coming to check and make sure everything was in order, you’d guessed. Which, when you wake up for good around 8:30 in the morning, reminds you that you need to get to the office to do a proper check in and pay for parking, the site and all that. You hadn't changed into pajamas before going to bed, so you just brush yourself off and straighten your clothes a little before digging through your toiletries bag to get your toothbrush and toothpaste, and a bottle of water out of the cooler. You can't be bothered to go all the way to the bathroom, so you just do a quick brush and swish with the water.

  
You drive up to the office-it's a little ways away- and get things settled with a very kind older lady with a charming southern accent. You didn't catch her name, but she was very helpful and even gave you the parking pass for free. “We weren't there when you got here, don't worry about it! Have a wonderful time while you're here in Kepler.”

  
An hour later, you've got the car unpacked and a trail map open to figure out where you want to go first. You figure you'll do some hiking, then drive around to try and find that lodge. There is no cell reception here- something about being a radio dead zone- but you've seen rangers frequently enough that you’re not too concerned. Someone would inevitably find you and get help if something were to happen. You pick one of the longer trails, get changed into hiking gear, and fill your backpack partway with water and granola bars before heading out.

  
There are surprisingly few mosquitoes bothering you, given the time of year and proximity to the river. The weather, as forecasted, is gorgeous. Cool enough that it takes a good long while before you even feel like you need to take a water break. You unclip your CamelBak from its place in your backpack and grab a honey granola bar as you step off to the side of the trail. You've just finished the bar when something catches your eye a little ways off the trail to your right. It's a little flash of color that you can't quite make out- a bird? No. It's mostly stationary. Something waving in the wind. An alternate trail marker? It hadn’t been marked on the map, but it does look like there’s a little bit of a trail through the brush…

  
You don't realize you've moved until you touch the scrap of fabric snagged on the branch. It's impossibly soft. A piece of scarf, it looks like. Reddish orange. You snatch it down from the branch and run your fingers over it. You slip it into your pocket and look around to see if there's another piece anywhere. You don't see any, but you also don't see the trail that had led you here. You look to see if there are any landmarks you recognize- a funky tree, or a flower patch. Nothing. It's like you've been teleported to a random point in the forest, but you haven't moved. Frustrated, you pull out your map and start heading in the direction you feel is closest to being 'right’.

  
Several hours and water breaks later, you're out of food and apparently no closer to finding a trail. You’re starting to wish you'd just stayed back at the tree with the fabric scrap. Someone could've seen you from the trail. And then, just as you're about to give up and start clearing a space to sit and maybe sleep, you see a clearing ahead of you. It looks like it’s still a hike, but significantly shorter than the days’ activities. You practically run, vaulting over branches and ditches, until you’re in the middle of the clearing. You pull out your map again, looking around while backing up. You’re trying to find- something. Something that matches up with the map. A clearing like this has to be attached to a trail or three, right?

  
You run into something while you’re moving around. You turn around, but don't see anything. You reach out, feeling around, and sure enough you feel it again. To an outsider, you must look like a mime. But there's definitely something there. You move along it, and then you move… through it? Around it? You reach out in front of you to try and see if there's something opposite the original thing, and find a similarly sized and textured… thing. And then you hear something. Twigs snapping, leaves rustling. A heavy puff of breath. Your head snaps up in its direction. There, in the distance, there's something. Or, rather, a notable absence of something. Shadows have fallen in a way that everything is blocked out, appears to have faded away. You look up and see a large mouth full of massive teeth, and further still is a pair of lightly glowing eyes.

  
You stumble backwards, back towards the two pillars (the archway?) and- much to your shock- you see… Stone. The light from the now-full moon is directly above what you now see is, in fact, an archway. You stumble through it as the creature takes a step forward, and then… It's gone. The creature, the forest, the clearing. The gateway is still there, but the surroundings? Completely foreign. You're on some kind of stone pavilion surrounded by columns, with a roof of similar stone. In front of you is some kind of city, but it's like no city you've ever seen. The buildings are all rounded. Very pleasant to look at, really, but it's odd to see so many buildings with so few sharp edges. Everything looks… abandoned. It's not a small city, but you can't see anyone. And how did you get here anyway? You look back at the archway you've come from and consider moving through it. Then you remember the creature on the other side that may or may not still be waiting for you.

  
So, instead, you decide to explore. You're hungry and tired, scraped up and dirty from a healthy handful of trips and tumbles over the course of the day. You open your mouth to call out to whoever might be around, but think better of it. You don't know where you are, let alone what the people here are like. No map to speak of, the only thing to do is to start moving. You follow the long, dusty road that connects the pavilion and the town. You pass by what look like restaurants, shops, a school, a hospital.

  
You’re halfway through the main town before you finally see what seems to be the first citizen of this town. You hear them before you see them- a thundering charge coming from the direction of the pavilion. There are two of them, both too far to see clearly but rapidly approaching. They look neither human nor friendly, spears held at the ready before them. So you run.

  
You run as fast as already-exhausted, aching legs will take you. You can still hear them gaining on you as you look frantically for- for what? An open door? An alley to hide in? You’re not sure, but you do know that you don't particularly want to become a human shish kebab.

  
And then you see it- a stone door built into a hill. It reminds you of a Hobbit house. The door is already cracked open, so you hurry through and slam it behind you. You rummage through your backpack for your flashlight to look for a locking mechanism, but hear it engage before you have a chance to find a bolt or anything. You turn around and find… stairs. You seem to me in some kind of cave? You hear clanking armor and remember you’re still being pursued. It seems the only way to go is down. So down you go, weak flashlight blinking in and out while you feel your way along the wall. Even after your eyes have adjusted, it's impossible to make out anything. There are no sources of light from above, from below, or built into the walls. You trip over yourself and stray rocks more than you care to admit.

  
You stumble blindly through what must be dozens of tunnels and chambers, occasionally finding yourself at a dead end and having to turn around. It's hard to say how long you’re walking- it feels like a long time, but could well be short of twenty minutes. You'd started humming and singing to yourself early on just to break the silence, but now you quiet down as you reach a chamber much larger than the previous ones. You continue to run your hand along the wall as you begin to hear what sounds like- breathing?

  
And then you step into nothing. And you're falling.

**Author's Note:**

> Initially intended to be based loosely on the cornerwitch comic by charminglyantiquated on Tumblr, but it's taken a life of its own.  
> I'm not familiar enough with Heathcliff's character to be really 'in character', but I'll do my best!  
> Obviously, this first chapter is pretty much just getting you into Sylvain and the Catacombs. Going to try to keep the fic pretty short- hopefully no more than 4 or 5 chapters (just because I have a rough time keeping up with anything ever).


End file.
